A CBRN incident differs from a hazardous material incident in both scope (i.e., CBRNe can be a mass casualty situation) and intent. CBRN incidents are responded to under the assumption that they are intentional and malicious; evidence preservation and perpetrator apprehension are of greater concern than with HAZMAT incidents.

A 2011 forecast concluded that worldwide government spending on CBRN defence products and services would reach US$8.38bn that year.[1]

In English the term CBRN is a replacement for the cold war term NBC (nuclear, biological, and chemical), which had replaced the term ABC (atomic, biological, and chemical) that was used in the fifties. The addition of the R (for radiological) is a consequence of the "new" threat of a radiological weapon (also known as "dirty bombs"), in addition to end the joke among members of the Chemical Corps which called "NBC as NoBody Cares". In the new millennium, the term CBRNe was introduced as an extension of CBRN - the e in this term representing the enhanced (improvised) explosives threat.[2] Leaders and members of the Chemical Corps also use CBRN as "Could Be Right Now".[3]

In Spanish the term NRBQ (Nuclear, Radiológico, Bacteriológico y Químico) has replaced NBQ.

The term CBRN is in common use in disaster and emergency services organizations across the country.[4] Since July 2005, the Canadian Forces also started using the term CBRN Defence, instead of NBC Defence, due to the increased threat of dirty bomb use (which is radiological in nature). CBRNe is a new term that is being used in both civilian and military organisations. The Canadian Joint Incident Response Unit is a Canadian Forces unit, under the direction of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, charged with supporting "the Government of Canada in order to prevent, control and mitigate CBRN threats to Canada, Canadians and Canadian interests."

The Ontario Provincial Police's UCRT (Urban Search & Rescue / CBRNe Response Team) is a specialized team responsible for CBRNe incident response for the province of Ontario. The team was formed in 2002 and was called the Provincial Emergency Response Team (PERT) until 2010, when the name was changed to UCRT.[citation needed] They changed from Provincial Emergency Response Team to UCRT due to the elimination of Tactical and concentrating on USAR and CBRN and explosive disposal. Under the direction of specialist Staff Sergeant Jim Bock, UCRT became the Provinces elite response to anti terrorism.

The Irish national police force, the Garda Síochána, has a number of nationwide CBRN response teams. The teams are based regionally (in six regions; Dublin, Eastern, Northern, Southern, South-Eastern & Western) and began operating from 2004 with 100 trained officers (170 responders trained throughout the country as of 2009). There is a requirement for members to be re-certified within 18 months of training.[9][10] CBRN response teams are trained by the Garda Tactical Training Unit, and supported nationally by the Emergency Response Unit (ERU).[11] Other emergency services also have limited CBRN expertise, such as the Health Service Executive (HSE) and Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB), who have a Hazardous Materials (Haz-Mat) and Chemical Incident Unit.

The Spanish Army 1st CBRN Regiment 'Valencia' was formed in March 2005.Training in the defence against CBRN agents as part of combat support is the main aim of exercise 'Grifo' (Griffin) – the most important of this type that the Army undertakes. The National Police and the Spanish Civil Guard have their own CBRN units. The Military Emergencies Unit and emergency services have CBRN training.[14][15]

CBRN is also used by the UK Home Office as a civil designation.[16] Police, fire and ambulance services in the UK must all have some level of CBRN providers. Within the ambulance service this is performed by the Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) and Special Operations Response Team (SORT). Since the introduction of new equipment to UK fire services under the New Dimension programme, CBRN decontamination of personnel (including members of the public) has become a task carried out by fire services in the UK and they regularly train for such scenarios.

The USAF uses Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC 3E9X1) U.S. Air Force Emergency Management, who are also CBRN Specialists. The USAF trains all US Airmen pursuing a career in counter-CBRN operations at the USAF CBRN School at Fort Leonard Wood.

In May 2012, BioPrepWatch reported that the Russian security service ordered over 100 "capsule cradles", which are devices that people can use to protect infants or even small pets in the event of a nuclear, chemical, biological, or radiological threat. According to the article, Soviet military engineers invented the capsules in the 1960s. A company is currently producing the capsules in a factory in Russia.[17]

Numbers vary, but news reports and market forecast reports place the market for CRBN products in 2013 and 2014 between $8.7-8.8 billion.[18][19] The market for CBRN products is expected to grow to over $13 billion by the year 2023.[18] CBRN manufacturers include Argon Electronics, Blucher GmbH, Bruker, FLIR Systems, HDT Global, MSA, Research International, and TSI.

Argon Electronics makes CBRN detection simulator called RADSIM 44-9-SIM that personnel can use in training exercises.[20]

HDT Global produces an air filtration system called ColPro Filtration that government forces can install in buildings, ships and vehicles to remove CBRN threats from the air.[24]

MSA produces the Safe Escape CBRN Respirator, a hood that filters CBRN particles for use by personnel responding to a terrorist incident. [25]

Research International creates a sensor system, called the ASAP V For Critical Infrastructure Protection, for subways and other public areas that uses multi-sensor surveillance technology that detects the presence of CBRN particles.[26]